And a Happy New Year to everyone from Godzilla, Pteri and Topsy.

Also Rosa sends her best wishes to all for a splendid 2018.   She is looking forward to another year of destroying people’s expensive landscaping and she hopes the same for you.  (She also hopes that they don’t allow hunting in town of these tame herds of deer).

The graduation took place in Dallas, Texas, a frighteningly sprawling city made possible by oil and air conditioning.   It was quite a change from life in the slow lane.

Downtown features the concrete canyons popular in major metropolitan areas.  Full of business persons, doing business things.

Just outside of the downtown proper, is the new hipster hangout formerly known as skid row.   Now instead of winos, one encounters the young and hip.   I wasn’t sure if we old people would be allowed in this enclave, but we had money so it was okay.

We ended up at a very trendy (as seen on TV) barbeque place.   We even stood in line to get in, which is something I seldom do.  They keep serving food until they run out, and we got there before this happened, but just barely.

And this is how it is served.  We had smaller trays covered in brown paper to eat off of, which we carried to our table.  Pictured is a pile of pulled pork, not pictured was the sliced brisket, hot links (sausages), and fried chicken.  Side dishes were served in carry out containers.  I will admit that the food was exceptional.  A singer was plying his trade out on the patio, but I thought it was still rather warm ( and somewhat smoky) to be eating outside.

Also outside was the area where all of the food magic happens.   The picture looks blurry because this shed was full of smoke (pecan wood only).   You can see the burning embers that had fallen out of the fire boxes laying on the ground.  It was incredibly smoky and hot, just like a vision of hell, but this job is a calling and a religion to those who work here.

Today we were celebrating Cinco (5th) de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexicans winning a battle, if not the war.  This is apparently another moveable holiday, so it was being celebrated today, the 6th.   And what better way to celebrate this holiday than with a car show.

I took this photo because it reminded me of the car M’s grandmother drove.   This is a restored  former police car, a 1964 model.  Grandma drove a police special with a big block engine and heavy duty suspension, and let’s just say that it did not take her all that long to get to the grocery store. 😉

It’s a big deal in this car culture to have a very low car.   This truck is in the process of transformation, it has a hydraulic system that lets the body sit just above the ground when parked, it raises up higher when you drive it.  The cab has been chopped and dropped, it hasn’t been run through a crusher, although it does look like it.

What would a car show be without a couple of bounce houses for the kids?  The sign in the background was from a place that offered naughty massages.

This dashboard is on a 1947 Chrysler.   The car has only had three owners since it rolled off the assembly line and is in the process of being restored.   The back seat was spacious and comfortable, unlike what one might find in a modern car.

I thought this car was absolutely gorgeous!   The color looked striking, the chrome had been carefully polished, and it has hydraulics.

This guy is giving the chrome a final polish before the judging.  Our cars are inanimate objects, just designed to get one from place to place, but it was impossible not to feel the love these guys have for their machines.

Me and the dinosaurs are busy cooking, so Happy Easter to all

Among the many things I get roped in to things I volunteer to help with is a fund-raiser for a children’s cancer charity.   So I was down at the local TV station to help with answering phones to do my bit.   The cameraman asked if we liked being on the telly, and I said “I was horrified” (I had forgotten that I am, in fact, that old).  We are there during the entire time when they do the news broadcast, and they spliced us in at random points as filler.  (Sorry there are no pictures of this as I was either busy, or pretending to look busy).   After it was all over I ran an eyeball over the news room.

This is where the newsreader sits while delivering the news.   The news team is a man (so to speak) short because one of the team just had her baby and is on maternity leave.

The cameraman is a robot that runs along this circular track, I presume a human tells it what to do (for now).

This is the weather guy.  Everyone else had buggered off, but he was sitting there still working.  Looks like he was picking weather pictures for the station’s Facebook page.   He is pretty decent at his job, he was the only forecaster who called it correctly.

And this was the weather that morning.   But because it’s spring, it was mostly gone by noon.

I went up to the state capitol to do a little bit of politicking.  And in between the speeches and handshaking, I went on a little jaunt to take a few photos of the icons of this beautiful building.

There were plenty of stained glass portraits of politicians and other notables in the many windows about the place.  This pair of former governors preside in perpetuity over the state Senate chambers.

In the rotunda there is a series of murals that depict the more glorious origins of development and eventual statehood.   The less positive events are not depicted.   But I was rather taken by this ox.

This is the entrance to the governor’s office.  This horse, Scout, used to formerly grace the north side of the public library, atop a giant chair (hey, it’s art, I think).   I’m sure he got tired of the traffic and noise outside, not to mention the weather, and now resides in this choice spot in the halls of power.

This statue of an Indian (I mean Native American) and his dead buffalo sit on the east side of the capitol building.   I have no idea what the camera person was up to.  They were reading a controversial bill later in the afternoon, maybe it was for a two second news spot.

Down in the basement, next to the lunch area, one can also get a shoeshine from this friendly woman.   The politician in the chair assured me that she is the best (as this is an uncommon profession, it is probably true).   This was once a common sight, but I can’t remember the last time a saw a man getting a shoeshine.  I wear German felt shoes, so I didn’t need a shine, but she was please to pose for this shot.